The Difference Between Hope and Desire!

Life is tough!

Now you probably didn’t need me to inform you of that reality, as once you have spent enough time of this planet, you will have experienced the results of the battle with the World, the Flesh and the Devil!

While redemption is complete and the future is secure and sure, the outworking of the process of this reality, involves more than one or two cuts and scrapes along the way.  Such is a divine reality that through it all, the always good God is always working these things, for our good and His glory!

This present reflection has been motivated by some recent developments that I am Jonny King has been made aware of, which are both troubling and distressing for some friends, and their family, which has encouraged one to reflect on something that one read recently that related to someone’s response to the news of Matt Chandler’s brain tumor prognosis, on the difference between Hope and Desire.

I write this today because I need to. I need to tell myself these things. I just read the pathology report from the Village Church on Matt Chandler (http://ow.ly/MM81). I have known Matt for many years and love and respect him deeply. I am praying for him and for his sweet wife Lauren, and their kiddos, and the Village. And, I am praying with this in mind: there is a difference between desire and hope.

I am praying with great desire. My desire is that God would heal Matt, hand him to Lauren and the kids to be her husband and their daddy, restore him to the pulpit, empower him to preach his heart out for the magnification of Jesus, and one day let him play with his grandkids. I think God wants me to desire those things and ask Him for them, knocking until my knuckles bleed, making it clear to God how I desire Him to respond. And, those desires are good. But those desires are different than our hope.

Sometimes desires are not fulfilled. But, our hope is…

I really encourage you to read the rest of this post, HERE, as it will also help you to reconcile what can seem like competing realities in your existence.

While our Desires can seem like they very easily Drown… our Hope (Read: All that We have in Christ) Floats!

Seriously, read the rest of the linked post, as this will help you think through this in your own life, where you will have many desires, but really only ever have ONE REAL HOPE!

For the Fame of His Name

Man of Spin